Teenage Girl Suffers Severe Neck Burns. This is Scary And Could Happen to Anyone.

If you missed the article I wrote about a teenager’s cell phone catching fire under her pillow, you can check that out here. This story is another reason why technology may not always be your best friend. Chicago mom, Jackie Fedro, recently shared what happened to her 13-year-old daughter, Gabbie, and if you own a cell phone, you’ll want to read this.

Gabbie got a cell phone for Christmas (a T-Mobile LG d500 to be exact), but regardless of the make and model of cell phone, this is something you’ll want to look out for. Gabbie was using her cell phone in her room when her mother, Jackie, suddenly heard a bloodcurdling scream. Gabbie came running down the stairs with her hands around her neck in agony.

What Jackie saw shocked her. A severe burn circled her daughter’s neck. Gabbie had been using her cell phone while it was plugged in to charge. Her phone charger came in contact with the necklace she was wearing, transmitting an electrical current which resulted in second degree burns. Jackie posted about the incident on Facebook, to warn others about the potential dangers of using a cell phone while wearing something made of metal.

Twitter/Jackie Fedro

Jackie said her daughter was in so much pain that she was screaming hysterically. She told Buzzfeed, “It’s the worst feeling in the world as a mother to watch your child scream in pain and have no idea how to help her … It took her a good five minutes before she was even able to tell us what had happened.”

Cell phone injuries are not common, but they do happen. Most come from the phone’s batteries overheating, leading to explosions or burns.

This is not the first incident regarding electrical hazards and cell phones. A young woman in China was killed while using her iPhone 5 as it was charging. Her family says that the 23-year-old answered a phone call — and she was electrocuted and passed away. The victim’s sister took to social media and begged others not to use their cell phones while they are charging. The family reached out to Apple for answers, and Apple eventually released a statement urging consumers not to use third-party chargers.

Jackie Fedro said that her daughter’s cell phone was purchased new from T-Mobile with all of the original parts, including the battery. She contacted both T-Mobile and LG about the incident. LG did not respond, but T-Mobile sent the family a new phone and offered to pay for Gabbie’s medical bills. Jackie sent the phone back to T-Mobile at their request, so they could run tests on it.

Twitter/Jackie Fedro

Gabbie’s burns have since turned into a long scar around her neck. Jackie told Buzzfeed that the incident was traumatizing for her daughter. “With so many kids using phones now days, parents need to be warned about the harm that they can cause.”

One Response

If this occurred as the girl stated it, this was a product defect- and a defect that occurs very rarely. The electrical current used to charge a phone is very small. You could put the end of a live USB charger in your mouth with no ill effects whatsoever. There are probably tens or hundreds of thousands of people who use their phones every day while being charged and don’t have any problems.